The Foundation is funded by an initial $10 million commitment from the Ford Foundation for endowment and operating funds. The Rumsey Band of Wintun Indians, based near Sacramento, Calif. committed an additional $1.5 million, and has announced a matching grant of a $1.5 million more.

ÂThe arts have always played a very significant role in Native cultures,Â Arquette said. ÂWhat connects one generation to the next is often communicated through the arts, and the NACF will be a powerful instrument for the continuance of Native cultures.Â

Arquette, a Native Hawaiian, brings 20 years of management experience to her role at the new Foundation. Most recently she served as CEO and executive director of the Native Hawaiian Hospitality Association, a private, nonprofit organization she led for the past four years. She has long been an advocate on behalf of Native communities, supporting Native Hawaiian social progress, economic development and self-determination, and along the way has intersected with counterparts in the American Indian and Alaskan Native communities.

The formation of the Foundation was guided by a Native Âleadership circleÂ and its board of trustees is majority Native. Members of the board include:

·Walter Echo-Hawk, board chair; Pawnee. He is an attorney, tribal judge, and former senior attorney with the Native American Rights Fund.

·Elizabeth Woody, board secretary; Navajo/Warm Springs/Wasco/Yakama. She is a poet, writer, visual artist and the former director and developer of the Indigenous Leadership Program at the nonprofit organization Ecotrust.

·Joy Harjo, board treasurer; Mvskoke/Creek. She is a poet and musician.

·Marshall McKay, member. He is a tribal chairman of the Rumsey Band of Wintun Indians.

·Letitia Chambers, member. She is a retired senior executive and former U.S. representative to the United Nations General Assembly.

ÂIn Native cultures and values, the We is always stronger than the I,Â Arquette said. ÂThe NACF is an organization whose essence and operation are informed from the outset by Native values.Â